As a mixed Asian-Canadian, unable to speak her cultural languages, Candace found a language through dance. Her work aims to reimagine traditional dance forms from the Canadian diaspora. She believes traditional dance can guide us through the future as we navigate life on land that is not our ancestral home.
Candace Kumar is a Filipino/Indo-Fijian dance artist, educator and choreographer born in Mississauga and now based in Mississauga and Toronto. She specializes in Filipino folk dance, practicing diverse styles from all across the Philippines.
Candace is a graduate of the University of Toronto and is currently an instructor and principal dancer for Folklorico Filipino Canada, where she has been training for over 17 years. Candace has also expanded her learning to organizations abroad, such as Parangal Dance Company in San Francisco and the Tao Foundation for Culture and Arts in Manila. Her work embodies a diasporic approach, looking at traditional dance through the lens of self identity. Aside from Filipino dance, Candace has trained in contemporary, jazz, ballet, street styles, Latin, Indian, and Chinese dance. Candace has worked with Little Pear Garden Dance Company, Anandam Dance Theatre, Creativiva Entertainment, Nautanki Creations, HATAW, A La Una, Han Han and more. Her notable performances include the 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Am Games, Nuit Blanche, SummerWorks Festival, and international festivals in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Mexico, Alaska, and the Czech Republic.
Her recent work includes "Crossing Waters," presented by Guelph Dance and the Citadel + Compagnie, "Desvelando," presented by Kapisanan at the AGO, and "Voyage," presented by the Mississauga Arts Council. She has been recently featured in Nova Bhattacharya's work "Svaha" and Emily Chueng's piece "Tales of China." Candace was recently awarded the Mississauga Arts Council Established Dance Artist Award of 2023 and the City of Mississauga Civic Recognition Award of 2023.
Candace views dance as a community-based practice, with a commitment to placemaking and collaboration. In her future work, she hopes to continue developing the Filipino dance community in Canada and create unity between diverse Asian dance forms across the Can-Asian landscape.
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